Discardable mold form

ABSTRACT

A package comprising a container defined by a discardable mold form and a product constituting a plurality of concrete plugs of the type used to fill surface openings or recesses left along a poured concrete wall by form retainers that pass therethrough. The container-defining mold form has a plurality of mold pockets therealong in each of which a concrete plug is confined; and the plugs are molded, stored and shipped in the form which is constituted of a peelable or tearable material enabling each pocket to be opened to release the concrete plug therewithin as such plug is needed for use.

United States Patent [72] Inventor Gardner H. Strong 22 Olive Ave, Piedmont, Calif. 9461 1 [21 Appl. No. 773,890

[22] Filed Nov. 6, 1968 [45] Patented Aug. 17,1971

[54] DISCARDABLE MOLD FORM 430,43l;249/61,66,112,114, ll5,143,160,69, 70,117,119, 121,127, 124, 125,62,63,81, 113; 206/56 A, 56 AB, 65

[56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,705,328 3/1929 Grifiith 249/160 X 2,129,508 9/ 1938 Slusser 249/61 X Primary Examiner-J. Spencer Overholser Assistant Examiner-John S. Brown AnorneyGardner & Zimmerman ABSTRACT: A package comprising a container defined by a discardable mold form and a product constituting a plurality of concrete plugs of the type used to fill surface openings or recesses left along a poured concrete wall by form retainers that pass therethrough. The container-defining mold form has a plurality of mold pockets therealong in each of which a concrete plug is confined; and the plugs are molded, stored and shipped in the form which is constituted of a peelable or tearable material enabling each pocket to be opened to release the concrete plug therewithin as such plug is needed for use.

, comprising concrete filler plum within such pockets.

Concrete filler plugs are used in substantial quantities in the construction industry to close surface openings, cavities or recesses formed along a poured concrete wall as a consequence of the necessary presence of form retainers that pass therethrough. Customarily, such plugs are stored and shipped in bulk form within relatively large containers and, as a result,

'the plugs are often damaged by abrasion and impact and in many instances the damage is-sufficiently extensive to prevent their use.

An object of the present invention is to provide an improved technique for fabricating, storing and shipping such plugs so as to protect the same from damage and at the same time make them conveniently available for use. Another object is in the provision of a package comprising a discardable mold form having a plurality of mold pockets located therealong, and further comprising a plurality of concrete fillerplugs respectively located within such pockets-the plugs having been molded within the pockets and the mold form being tearable or breakable in a selective or restrictive sense so that each pocket is readily opened to release the concrete plug therewithin when availability of the plug is required. Additional objects and advantages, especially as concerns 'particu lar features and characteristics of the invention will become apparent as the specification develops.

Embodiments of the invention are illustrated in the accompanying drawing in which:

FIG. 1 is a broken vertical sectional view through a poured concrete wall with a filler plug in position therealong;

FIG. 2 is a broken top plan view of a mold form having concrete plugs located therewithin;

FIG. 3 is a broken longitudinal sectional view taken along the line 3-3 of FIG. 2 but with certain mold pockets being shown without filler plugs therein;

FIG. 4 is an enlarged broken longitudinal sectional view similar to that of FIG. 3 but showing a modified mold form; and

FIG. 5 is an enlarged broken longitudinal sectional view of a still further modified mold fonn.

Concrete filler plugs of the type herein considered are used to fill surface openings or recesses along a face of a poured concrete wall which has such openings therealong as a consequence of the presence of elongated bolts extending therethrough which are necessarily used to tie together the spaced-apart forms (usually wooden or metal) between which the concrete is poured and hardened. In FIG. 1, a portion of such a wall is illustrated after the forms have been stripped or otherwise removed therefrom, leaving openings therealong which are respectively filled with the plugs. For identification, the wall is denoted with the numeral 10, the illustrated opening therein with the numeral 11, and the concrete filler plug seated within such opening is designated with the numeral 12. Such plugs and their use are well known in the art and they may be secured within the openings adhesively or by any conventional means. The filler plug 12 is formed of concrete and has a frustoconical configuration so as to conform to the corresponding configuration of the opening 11.

The disposable mold form shown in FIG. 2 is designated in its entirety with the numeral 13, and it comprises a sheet of material 14 having a plurality of mold pockets 15 provided therealong. The sheet 14 and pockets 15 are integral and the pockets are arranged in transversely and longitudinally extending rows which are quite close to each other. The pockets define mold cavities within which the concrete plugs 12 are formed and, accordingly, have frustoconical configurations.

Each pocket 15 is open at the opposite ends thereof, as shown best in FIG. 3, and such open ends are respectively denoted l6 and 17.

Structure is provided for retaining the plugs 12 within the pockets 15, and such structure in the embodiment of the invention illustrated in FIGS.2 and 3 constitutesa backing sheet 18 overlying the sheet of material 14 and attached thereto such as by a pressure-sensitive adhesive. More particularly, the backing sheet 18 overlies the larger open ends 17 of the pockets 15 and defines a common bottom closure therefor upon which the moldable mass of concrete filling the pocket is supported as it cures. Thereafter, the backing sheet 18 retains each plug 12 within its mold pocket 15 during storage and shipment of the package constituting the container-defining disposable mold form and the plug products within the pockets thereof.

In the modified embodiment of the invention shown in FIG. 4, the structure for retaining the plugs within the mold pockets constitutes an irregularity formed along the upwardly extending walls of the pockets 15a. Such irregularity may take a variety of forms and as shown constitutes a plurality of recesses 19. Evidently, a relatively small number of deep recesses 19 can be provided along the inclined walls of each pocket but in some instances, a greater number of smaller recesses may prove preferable. In the structure as shown, the recesses 19 are fairly deep and a restricted number thereof (four, for example,) are used. It may be observed that such recesses are inwardly directed wherefore concave recesses are formedalong the sidewalls of the filler plugs 12a molded within the pockets 15a. Since the recesses 19 are effective to maintain the plugs within the pockets, there is no requirement for a backing sheet such as the sheet 18 heretofore described insofar as retaining the plugs in the pockets.

The sheet of material 14 and backing sheet 18 may each be flexible and at least the sheet of material 14 is readily torn or ripped so that each pocket can be opened to release the plug 12 formed therewithin whenever a plug is required. Any number of materials are suitable for the sheets 14 and 18 including certain of the synthetic thermoplastic materials, and paper especially the multiple-ply kraft papers with or without resin or other impregnation.

In the further modified embodiment of the invention shown in FIG. 5, the inclined walls of each pocket vary somewhat in thickness along the length thereof, and throughout its upper end portion, as shown at 20, each pocket 15b is substantially thinner than throughout the lower end portion 21 thereof. Such construction facilitates tearing the pocket walls to release the plugs 12b therefrom. A backing sheet is employed in the mold form shown in FIG. 5 and is denoted with the numeral 18b.

In use of the structure, and considering in particular the embodiment shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, the sheet of material 14 having mold pockets 15 formed therealong is placed upon a relatively firm surface, usually with the backing sheet 18 having first been adhesively secured to the undersurface of the sheet 14 to close the larger open ends 17 of the mold pockets. Each pocket 15 is then filled with a moldable mass of concrete which is admitted thereinto through the upper open end 16 thereof. The concrete is packed and smoothed as necessary and cures within the pockets 15. The entire package, comprising the container-defining sheets 14 and 18 and product-defining filler plugs 12 is stored and shipped in such configuration and any suitable number of plugs may be supplied on order simply by providing sheets with the requisite number of plugequipped pockets therealong. Should an order be placed for more plugs than can be handled conveniently in one single sheet, a plurality thereof in convenient size can be stacked one upon another.

The mold pockets, together with the backing sheet 18, not only provide a convenient means for storing the tiller plugs but they also protect the same from damage resulting for example, from the rubbing of one plug against another or from other abrasion, and from impact of one plug against another when plugs of this type are stored and shipped in bulk quantifies. In order to use a filler plug 12 to fill a surface opening 11, as shown in FIG. 1, the sheet 14 is torn across a pocket 15, as illustrated in FIG. 2, to release the plug therefrom Evidently, then, plugs 12 are released from their respectively associated pockets only as they are required for use.

In the embodiment of the invention shown in FIG. 5, the plugs 12b are formed, stored and shipped in the same manner as heretofore described. In the embodiment shown in FIG. 4, the procedure is essentially the same except that there is no requirement for a backing sheet since upon curing, the filler plugs 120 are retained within the pockets 15a by the action of the recesses 19. Evidently, however, a firm support surface will be required to close the lower open ends 170 of the pockets 15a while plugs are molded therein.

For the purpose of indicating an exemplary order of size, the dimensions of a typical structure of the type shown in FIGS. 2 and 3 is as follows: the internal diameter of each pocket 15 at the open end 17 thereof is about 1 inch and the corresponding diameter at the opening 16 approximates fiveeighths of an inch; the vertical dimension or height of each pocket is about five-eighths of an inch, and the wall thickness thereof is about 0.004 of an inch; and the center-to-center spacing of the mold pockets 15 is approximately I Ill 6 inches.

While in the foregoing specification embodiments of the invention have been described in considerable detail for purposes of making a complete disclosure thereof, it will be apparent to those skilled in the art that numerous changes may be made in such details without departing from the spirit and principles of the invention.

I claim:

1. In combination, a discardable mold form defining a container for storage and shipment of a concrete product formed therein and comprising a sheet of material formed with a plurality of generally frustoconical mold pockets respectively adapted to receive a moldable mass of concrete therewithin to provide a plurality of concrete plugs within said pockets conforming essentially to the configurations enforced thereon by the walls of said pockets while being cured therewithin, the smaller end of the pockets being at the upper end and having an opening for receiving the moldable concrete mass into the pocket, and structure retaining each of said plugs within the pockets therefor, each of the lower ends of the pockets being formed with an opening through which the plugs in the pockets may be discharged, the walls of said pockets being sufficiently stiff to maintain their individual shapes during formation of said plugs therein, and each of said pockets having an opening at the. lower end for withdrawal of the plug from the pocket.

2. The combination set forth in claim 1 in which said structure retaining each of said plugs within the pocket therefor includes a backing sheet associated with and extending along the aforesaid sheet of material and providing a full closure for all of said openings at the bottom end of the pockets.

3. The combination of claim 1 in which the aforesaid sheet of material and mold pockets thereof are integral, and in which each of the walls of said pockets is tearable so as to facilitate removal of the plug from the pockets without disassociating one pocket from another.

4. The combination of claim 3 in which said structure retaining each of said plugs within the pocket therefor includes a backing sheet underlying the aforesaid sheet of material and being secured thereto to close the open end of each pocket adjacent the base thereof, the openings closed by the backing sheet being larger than the openings at the other end of the pockets.

5. The combination of claim 4 in which said backing sheet is adhesively secured to the aforesaid sheet of material.

6. The combination of claim 3 in which the sidewalls of each of said mold pockets diverge downwardly and is provided with an irregularity along the walls thereof for retaining each of said %gs within the pocket therefor.

7. e combination of claim 3 in which each of said pockets has a variable wall thickness therealong of greater dimension adjacent the base of the pocket. 

1. In combination, a discardable mold form defining a container for storage and shipment of a concrete product formed therein and comprising a sheet of material formed with a plurality of generally frustoconical mold pockets respectively adapted to receive a moldable mass of concrete therewithin to provide a plurality of concrete plugs within said pockets conforming essentially to the configurations enforced thereon by the walls of said pockets while being cured therewithin, the smaller end of the pockets being at the upper end and having an opening for rEceiving the moldable concrete mass into the pocket, and structure retaining each of said plugs within the pockets therefor, each of the lower ends of the pockets being formed with an opening through which the plugs in the pockets may be discharged, the walls of said pockets being sufficiently stiff to maintain their individual shapes during formation of said plugs therein, and each of said pockets having an opening at the lower end for withdrawal of the plug from the pocket.
 2. The combination set forth in claim 1 in which said structure retaining each of said plugs within the pocket therefor includes a backing sheet associated with and extending along the aforesaid sheet of material and providing a full closure for all of said openings at the bottom end of the pockets.
 3. The combination of claim 1 in which the aforesaid sheet of material and mold pockets thereof are integral, and in which each of the walls of said pockets is tearable so as to facilitate removal of the plug from the pockets without disassociating one pocket from another.
 4. The combination of claim 3 in which said structure retaining each of said plugs within the pocket therefor includes a backing sheet underlying the aforesaid sheet of material and being secured thereto to close the open end of each pocket adjacent the base thereof, the openings closed by the backing sheet being larger than the openings at the other end of the pockets.
 5. The combination of claim 4 in which said backing sheet is adhesively secured to the aforesaid sheet of material.
 6. The combination of claim 3 in which the sidewalls of each of said mold pockets diverge downwardly and is provided with an irregularity along the walls thereof for retaining each of said plugs within the pocket therefor.
 7. The combination of claim 3 in which each of said pockets has a variable wall thickness therealong of greater dimension adjacent the base of the pocket. 